I'm Not Your Fucking Best Friend
by skyylar-dupree
Summary: For once Natsu Dragneel is not the stupid one. Sort of. And Levy McGarden can usually read anything, so why is she so stumped trying to figure out a certain iron mage that has caught her attention? What will happen when the two of them begin to scheme to win the hearts they pine for! WELL READ AND SEE DAMMIT. NaLu GaLe NastuxLucy GajeelxLevy
1. Do You Know How to Touch a Girl?

Konnichiwa Minna! Watashi wa Skyylar desu!

I'm new to this whole publishing thing on FF so bear with me please.

FIRST FANFIC. YES THERE'S AN OC. IDK IF IT WILL MESS WITH THE PAIRINGS. WE WILL SEE.

Kinda just flying by the seat of my pants with this one. Planning as I write. Not a good strategy, but it's feeling good. :D

Enjoy! READ, REVIEW, FOLLOW. I really don't care-okay. I lie. I do. NYA. JUST LOVE IT! Please? ._.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fairy Tail or it's characters 'cept for Spade Hart/Ribbon. But dangnabbit if I did...

* * *

Chapter 1: Do You Know How to Touch a Girl?

Lucy paced back and forth on a ledge bordering a canal that ran through the city of Magnolia. It was a warm summer evening and the fishermen just warned her to be careful before she tripped face-first into the water like the klutz she usually is. It's amazing how she never wound up in the canal before.

She let the small thought have her impulsively dip her fingers into its dark depths to gauge the extent of shock and despair an ice cold surprise bath would be say she did jinx herself. Fortunately enough, it was a rather nice temperature.

Aside from that random moment distracting her from the bigger problem that'd been on her mind, her celestial dog spirit, Plue, was making his usual self-named vocations beside her as he danced across the cracks in the cobblestone.

She smiled at the adorable care-free antics he was entertaining himself with but it quickly faded as she remembered the issue that'd been bugging her since they're return of their last mission.

How was she going to tell… him? Or her? She didn't know. The point was she just wasn't ready. She was too young to deal with this kind of responsibility on her own.

And the recent missions haven't been any help either, coming back home to this- this _uncomfortable_ situation. And uncomfortable was putting it lightly.

She just wasn't ready to have that confrontation yet. Maybe that's why she'd been pacing the ledge outside her apartment complex ever since she left the guild this afternoon. Because she knows he'd be in there. Watching; waiting for her return like a spider in its web.

Damn and she was so hungry, too, but she barely had a jewel to spare for some dinner and ALL her food was in the apartment.

She groaned.

"How am I going to get in there without him noticing?"

"Who noticing?"

The familiarly oblivious toned voice took the blonde by surprise causing her to lose her footing. She waved her arms sporadically as she teetered back and forth on the ledge as dark, relatively nice temperature water, waited to swallow her up. Just as she felt gravity turning against her she felt a tug on her spaghetti strap pulling her in the opposite direction she was falling and propelling her backwards into the body that saved her.

She landed on her butt, but her butt didn't land on the ground. It felt softer. Alive. Like a—

"Luc-cy… I can't breathe… so heavy…"

She glanced over her shoulder and only registered the shock of pink hair before she scrambled to her feet simultaneously fixing her miniskirt.

"Natsu! Are you okay?"

"Ow. Yeah, I think I'm okay."

He took her outstretched hand and rubbed the back of his head with the other and winced. He checked for blood but luckily there was none.  
"I don't think it was that bad of a fall for you bust your head open, Natsu," she said with a shake of her head.

_He gets beaten to a pulp fighting men with iron rods for arms and comes back swinging full force, but he can't take one little bump on his head? Unbelievable. I will never understand this guy._

"Hey. You don't know how heavy you are. You could've killed me," he said with more conviction than she appreciated.

Her eyebrow twitched in irritation, "I AM NOT THAT HEAVY. I mean look at me! I'm perfect!" She retorted, envisioning herself in a two-piece bikini posing for the latest Sorcerer Mag's front page. They would love her every angle and boys would flock her front door just to have glimpse of her silky golden hair or generously endowed chest or her—

"Natsu, Lucy is scaring me," said a blue exceed hiding behind the Dragon Slayer's shoulder.

She rolled her eyes at the cat for breaking her out of pleasant trance and asked Natsu, "What are you guys doing here anyway? Your house is the other way."

"Well," said Natsu, scratching the corner of his nose and looking upward innocently, "Happy kept on complaining how hungry he was and wanted to come see if you had fish or something at your place."

Happy squeaked and pounded his furry paws into the dragon slayer's pink hair rather ineffectively. "Nuh-uh! You said _you_ were hungry and _you _wanted to see if Lucy had stuff to eat at her place!"

They went back and forth like five-year olds for a good while. Lucy sighed and continued her pace a few feet away from the ledge this time, avoiding answering them and the fact that she was hungry as well.

She felt a soft weight on the crown of her head and surmised that Happy had perched himself comfortably there.

"Speaking of, what are you doing out so late Lucy? You left the guild when the sun was up."

She let her unfortunate reality come back to her, groaned and sunk to her knees as Happy and Natsu traded perplexed glances with each other.

"I'M SO BROKE," she cried out dramatically to the heavens. "You guys keep destroying every city we go to cutting all our jewels in half, so now; I don't have enough money for rent this month **at all**. And I can't face my she-man landlord-lady empty-handed!"

She cried hysterically into her palms as Plue comforted her with soft pats on her thigh.

"AND I'M SO. HUNGRY." she bellowed, and her stomach, as if on cue, growled ferociously enough to be embarrassing if she wasn't on the verge of bobbing for fish in the canal.

Natsu chuckled.

"Well, why didn't you say so? You can have our jewels!"

Lucy looked up from her hands and Natsu had his hand outstretched to her as she'd done him not five minutes ago.

"What?" She asked as she took his hand and let him pull her up. She was reluctant to believe he would just give her his jewels like that. "Are you serious?"

He grinned and ruffled the back of his blush locks, "of course! We practically live there anyway. You can take however much you need to pay your rent. So what do you say?"

She looked at him with complete disbelief and he stared back unflinchingly, aloof to the extremity of the gesture he just made. Her heart swelled and her lips couldn't help but grin at her absolutely stupid but most caring friend she'd ever had. She pulled him into a tight hug—to Natsu's surprise this time.

_I really never will understand this guy._

Her arm still wrapped around his neck she whispered a heartfelt 'thank you' and kissed him chastely on his cheek.

Happy giggled, "she likkkkeeessss you."

They quickly pulled apart and detached the hands they'd been holding since Natsu had helped her up. Natsu shifted his eyes away uncomfortably as Lucy waggled an index finger at the exceed.

"Happy, not everyone who shows affection has to liiikkkeeeee someone," she chided before grinning again. "Come on guys, I think I have some leftover curry and fish at my house; my treat."

She began walking; Plue and Happy following in tow, except for a certain fire-breathing teenage boy who had seemed rather frozen in place when Lucy turned to look for him.

"Natsu, are you coming?"

Nothing.

"Natsu?"

Nada.

"Did you really hit your head that hard?"

She walked over to him and placed a gentle palm on his forehead and saw his face flush a concerning shade of red. Lucy gasped.

"You're burning up!"

She grabbed his hand and dragged him in the direction of her apartment and went on babbling about some summer flu that was going around lately and how a hot bath and soup would do the trick.

He pulled his arm away from her. It was a mild tug, but firm enough for her to let go willingly. She gave him a worried look and he quickly grinned as a buffer.

"I… uh, I actually have to go take care of something first," he chuckled nervously, "save some curry for me!"

And with that unconvincing half-assed excuse, he was running in the other direction as she and Happy traded glances of concern for the roseate's health.

"We are definitely making soup," she said finally, turning towards home once again.

"Ooh!" Happy clapped, "is it going to be fish soup!?" He began flying excitedly around her.

She laughed, "we'll see. Come on Plue."

"_Pru-pru!"_

* * *

The doors of the guild flung open so hard Natsu didn't consider there might've been people behind it, namely a very painfully-crushed-between-a-wall-and-a-thick-wooden-door, Gray Fullbuster.

The Dragon Slayer stormed in a good five steps before Gray hauled him by his scarf and went nose-to-nose with the guy trading electric glares of fury with each other as soon as they made eye contact.

"What the hell Ash-Tray," he growled.

Natsu growled back, "step aside pervert, I have business to take care of."

Gray laughed, "you can't even say your ABC's properly! What 'business' can your Flame-Brain handle?"

"It's none of _YOUR_ business Ice-Cube!"

"What did you call me?!" Gray shouted.

Predictably enough, someone got punched and the fighting ensued, hurling fists and insults. They rolled around the guild blasting fire and ice at each other, knocking over tables, breaking glasses, all in all setting up a domino effect to the rest of the members of the guild and ungracefully knocking it over causing one of their trademark brawls to break out.

Soon, it wasn't just fire and ice shooting at every direction like a misguided geyser, but magical abilities of every kind chucking and ducking and tussling.

In the distance they heard a, "YOU AREN'T A MAN IF YOU DO NOT ENGAGE IN FRIENDLY COMBAT FROM TIME TO TIME," and a table flew at an impressive length across the room and hit a tea-sipping Freed in the head. A high-pitched squeal had confirmed Juvia just witnessed Gray tear off his clothes like a barbaric ape, and crashes and clatters had filled the once peaceful night into a raging mob.

Gajeel and Pantherlily joined the Strauss sisters along with Wendy and Carla and a book-occupied Levy McGarden behind the bar where they watched disinterested except for Mirajane who continued to smile and wipe off glasses commenting on how she knew it had been too quiet.

The brawl continued and they saw even ex-Master Makarov getting in on the action along with a ferocious Titania who had some poor fellow in a pretty serious headlock as she screamed, "WHOSE GOING TO BUY ME ANOTHER PIECE OF CAKE DAMMIT?!"

They were sure the man had agreed to buy her back a thousand cakes, but he couldn't get a word out due to his contradictory predicament.

Mirajane and Lisanna had been chatting about some theory about washing your hair with ale and how it will make it stronger, while Wendy was on the receiving end of Carla complaining about the lack of maturity of such a renowned guild as Pantherlily nodded in agreement. Levy was hidden behind her book stealing involuntary glances at the iron dragon slayer who had his thick, muscled arms crossed over his strong chest and a suspicious crimson eye on a certain fire-breathing mage since the moment he barged in and smashed Gray into the wall.

She was trying to focus on the words of the book that she'd anticipated for a month to arrive, but she found herself having to re-read paragraphs lately due to her sudden case of ADD since the fight on Tenrou Island. She just couldn't help noticing Gajeel more and more.

He wasn't that spectacular or graceful in the way he moved or spoke. In fact he was quite the opposite. He was rough and uncut. She learned that was tribute to his time on the other side of righteousness. But she actually sort of liked his gruffness and raw strength. And as far as anybody noticed, he was actually pretty intelligent when it came to judgments of character—that and the fact that his tough exterior was kind of... handsome.

Levy shook her head and scolded herself giving the iron mage so much of her attention to his details.

"Don't you think so, pipsqueak?"

She jumped and looked up at him.

"Did you say something Gajeel?"

_Crap, was he trying to say something to me the whole time? I was so out of it! _

"I said, don't you think the salamander is kind of intense right now," he said still looking out into the guild with no acknowledgment of her own type of brawl in her mind.

She followed his eye-line into the mass. It was quite easy finding Natsu's pink hair among the droves of Fairy Tail mages who seemed blurred out as they fought with each other.

At first he looked quite normal bellowing his attack names as fire spurted out from his mouth and arms in intervals. He dodged glasses and furniture and focused on Gray and few others who'd ganged up on him…or Gray? Or maybe it was each other? It truth, it was quite difficult to know who exactly was fighting who in Fairy Tail brawls. But as she tuned into specifically Natsu, she began to notice the dissension in his attacks.

His face was contorted in agitation and his teeth were slightly exposed in the form of a snarl instead of laughing and shouting obnoxious offenses at his comrade/adversaries like his usual demeanor.

"You're right," she said, "I wonder what the matter is."

They both were quiet for a moment watching Natsu and what seemed like his failed attempt to escape a brawl. She never believed Natsu would _ever _be in a position where he wanted to escape a fight. This must be really serious.

_Well. There's a first time for everything, I suppose,_ Levy thought.

"Gajeel, you have to get him out of there."

Gajeel looked at the bluenette with a severely raised eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

She turned completely to him, "I need to talk to him! Can you please get him out of there?"

"Why do I have to get him?! Do it yourself!"

"I'll be trampled the minute I step out there, you know that!"

He huffed crossing his arms tighter and almost pouted his lips stubbornly. Levy filed that look into practically adorable then threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Oh my god. Fine."

She was half way over the bar when Gajeel grunted, lifted her firmly by the waist, and put her back behind it. She barely registered the blush that swept her cheeks since she still could feel the imprints of his surprisingly gentle hands on her hips.

He grumbled something about stupid salamanders under his breath and formed a makeshift path all the way to Natsu by throwing men and furniture to either side of him.

So tact and diplomacy wasn't his strong suit, but he still listened to her. Sort of.

Practically no one noticed the fire mage's absence except, of course, Gray who yelled things like "come back here" and "coward" to Natsu's retreating body over Gajeel's shoulder,

Levy met them outside the guild where the thrashing mage cursed Gajeel's name quite a few times. Gajeel dumped him on the sidewalk and stalked back inside before Levy could stammer out a thank you. She face palmed and cursed her fiery demands then crouched down to Natsu who was rubbing his backside and death glaring the guild doors.

"Tell me what's going on," she said gently.

"I'm gonna kick Gajeel's ass is what's going on! What the hell is his problem anyway?"

Levy sighed; _this is going to be draining._

"I asked him to bring you here. Don't blame him. "

Natsu blinked at her. "Why did you ask him to bring me here?"

"Because," she said standing up and smoothing out the creases of her orange sundress, "something's bothering you."

She would like to tell him that Gajeel was actually the one who noticed first, but something told her that one, Natsu would never believe it; and two, Gajeel would be mad at her for ruining his tough guy reputation by making him look like he actually cares—which he does—but she'll keep that to herself, too.

Natsu went quiet at Levy's statement.

"You were acting strange in there, Natsu, not like yourself. You said you had something to take care of?"

She offered him her hand, "do you want to talk about it?"

He took it and was reminded of the similar exchange he'd recently had with the blonde-haired root of his turmoil.

Levy stood there watching Natsu battle the answer as he watched her and considered possibly terrible outcomes.

He sucked in a breath and decided that there was no one better to tell than the best friend of his best friend, and in all Levy's years of knowing Natsu she would never be prepared to hear what he said next:

"I THINK I WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH LUCY."

* * *

Lucy pressed her lips to a wooden spoon filled with a light brown consistency and hummed in delight.

"Alrighty! Dinner's served guys!"

With two pot cloths she set the steaming crock of salmon soup in the middle of the dinner table. Happy and Plue cooed as the savory smells wafted up and surrounded them in warmth and goodness. Lucy had to catch Happy midstride by his tail before he plunged headfirst into the pot and shed his blue fur inside the dinner Lucy worked so hard to make.

"Ah-ah-ah," she tutted as she plunked him down at his seat.

"But-"

"No buts! We have to wait for Natsu. He should be back any second now."

"You're so mean Lucy! I'm hungry!"

She frowned at the door. She was starving, too. Where was he?

"Okay," she flexed her wrist back and glanced at her watch, "if he's not back in ten minutes then we go on without him. Deal?"

They both groaned their agreements and the ten minute countdown began.

Aaand apparently, if you try and wait ten minutes it'll feel like the earth stopped moving completely. Lucy, Happy, and Plue all sat around the pot and had probably the most intense staring contest with the poor thing. It would be a terrible night if they somehow conjured up some sort of laser-vision. But there was something about that pot that was troublesome. Was it… was it taunting them?

It had to have been a generous three minutes later and Lucy just about had it.

"GAH! That's it! We're eating!"

She spooned only a ladle full into Happy's bowl and there was a knock heard.

Lucy shot up from her seat, stormed to the door and swung it open practically off its hinges.

"Seriously, what took you so freakin' long? Didn't I tell you how hungry I am and you're not Natsu…"

She almost rolled her eyes at herself. Of course it wouldn't be Natsu. He _never _uses the door. Let alone knock.

Before her was a man that stood about a head taller than her. He had a lean but strong build and electric blue shoulder-length hair that he captured in a small ponytail. He wore a crisp white shirt and a pair of black jeans where a silver-spiked belt hung low on his hips. His eyes were a shade of navy blue so deep his pupils seemed invisible. If he hadn't blinked she would've gotten lost in them.

She cleared her throat, "and who are you?"

"Oh dear, where are my manners?" He spoke in a smooth tenor. "The name's Spade Hart. I was just walking through the neighborhood when I smelled your food from all the way down there. I just couldn't stop myself to find out who could make something that smelled so wonderful. Luckily for me, it was a cute girl like you," he smiled and her heart involuntarily stopped. His teeth were so… straight.

Happy was noisily slurping the ladle full of soup, but it was the gentle tug on her ankle that got her attention. Plue danced around agitated and pointed to the pot.

_Poor thing, he hadn't eaten all day._

"Actually, we were all just about to have dinner. Would you like to join us? We have an extra plate," Lucy smiled at her unexpected guest and gestured him to enter.

He smiled back, "how could I refuse?"

* * *

"Wait. So you're telling me… I _shouldn't_ have sex with Lucy."

Levy was slouched over on a bench with her head in her hands. She was going to have an aneurism if she had to explain this any longer.

"Natsu. Listen. Because I'm not going to say this again," she said as sternly as her baby-face would let her be. He nodded violently and kept full eye contact with her.

"You don't _just_ want to… you know," she averted her eyes and mouthed the 'have sex' part.

"Have sex?" Natsu reiterated aloud with the perfect face of mental incapacity. Levy blinked hard and sighed.

"Yes. That."

She began again. "You actually want to have a relationship with her. You want to let her feelings grow for you. What you really want is for her to be your girlfriend. You want her to pick you up when you're down, and worry about you when you're hurt. You want to just hold her hand and let her touch your face. You want to feel her warmth when you lay in bed at night. And when she finally gets to a point in time where she's ready to go all the way, _then _you can… do it. You get it? It just takes time and some effort!"

Natsu took a moment to let Levy's words sink in. Half of him was truly taking in what she said and the other half didn't want to say something stupid and lose possibly the sanest advice he'll get among the women at Fairy Tail.

He slowly began to realize that everything Levy said had already happened. Many times Lucy had made him happy when he was sad. Many times she'd worried about him when he'd gotten into a fight. And they'd held hands not too long ago when they'd helped each other up… _and _she touched his face when she believed that he had a case of the summer flu. He sleeps in her bed pretty much every other night. It was like angels had started to sing.

Lucy had been his girlfriend all along! Who knew? Now the only thing left was…

"What if I just want to have sex with her?"

Levy blinked at him a few times. She had to admit, she was shocked. She knew—well everyone knew—that Natsu was as dense a doorknob. But she'd never taken him for _that_ kind of guy. She thought he cared about Lucy in a different way and she was sure he definitely showed it sometimes, but maybe she thought wrong, and maybe he looked at Lucy as more of a friend with benefits type thing.

She eased herself out of the initial shock and cleared her mind for a tactful answer.

It's true that in this day and age, having a serious relationship was for when young adults have matured and they go through their bachelor phases. Natsu would've been at the age where he should be settling down, but the whole ordeal on Tenrou Island kind of screwed that up. She supposed if he wanted to have a one-night-stand with Lucy, as long as she consented, she didn't see the problem.

Lucy would just have to give her every single drop of detail after it went down. She squealed internally. She just couldn't even imagine it! She couldn't help but anticipate the conversations of both their firsts and the nightlong giggles they would share over tubs of ice cream and cans of whipped cream.

_Who would **my** first be, though? _She thought.

A dark haired, ruby-eyed face-pierced iron dragon-slayer popped in her head and she could suddenly feel his fingers on her waist again. She blushed and shook her head.

"I mean, I guess if you just wanted to, no strings attached, then you have to make her want you that way, you know?"

He shook his head side-to-side. She groaned, "you're going to make me spell it out for you," she said to the oblivious boy staring back at her, "Of course you are."

She looked him dead in the eyes and grabbed both his shoulders, "Natsu, you're going to have to seduce her."

* * *

"You know who I am?" Lucy said a little concerned. Happy and Plue had already taken residence on her bed and conked out after eating their fill. Spade was still sitting at the dinner table while Lucy cleaned up. She occupied herself with scrubbing dishes to hide that mild panic she felt at the mention of her ex-dark secret. Surely everyone knew her father's business went bankrupt and she was no longer the heir to the Heartfilia Konzern, right?

Then again, she didn't have any clue who this stranger was.

What if he was dangerous? What if he still believes she had money? She can't even pay her rent in full this month! She began to panic even more.

_Lucy you are so stupid! You know better than invite strangers into your house! _

"When I first saw you, I wasn't completely sure. You were walking on the edge of the canal and I thought you might fall in, so I kept an eye on you. But when you were talking to your boyfriend I heard your voice and I just knew it was you," he said with a small smile.

Her eyebrows knitted together as realization sunk in. "I thought you said—you were watching me?! And Natsu's _not_ my boyfriend!" She almost screeched. "He's just a really good friend, that's all!"

Her cheeks were warm and her heart raced at the unbelievable fact that she used Natsu and boyfriend in the same sentence.

_Probably cause the thought is absolutely __**wrong. **__Natsu? Boyfriend material? Ha._

"But I saw you kiss his cheek," he said quietly.

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

Lucy eyed him warily when he set the last of the dishes in the sink and leaned on the kitchen counter beside her.

"So. How do you know me again?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said slyly.

She set the washed dish in the drainer, "try me," she said seriously, crossing her arms.

They locked eyes for a moment, silently challenging each other for someone to give their pride. Spade caved first and blew out a breath before he began.

"Only because I'm a sucker for brown eyes," he winked and smiled when the compliment caught her off guard and she let her flattery slip out. She looked away.

"I actually grew up in the Heartfilia Residence with you."

The blonde blinked at him, "Eh?!"

He lips tightened into a line and nodded.

"My real name is actually Spade Ribbon."

"Wait. Ribbon? You're… you're related to Ribbon?"

When Lucy used to live at her old home at the Heartfilia Residence, she would spend many days reading in the library. Ribbon was the librarian that had treated her like a daughter. She would often wish her father would take lessons from him on how to be a compassionate parent. On her most fragile days she would wish Ribbon was her real father instead of the tyrant that used to be hers. Now Spade has claimed he's related to him.

She wasn't sure what to believe, though. He posed as a random passerby hungry for a meal when in actuality he'd been watching her prior to him showing up… and he'd lied about his name. If he was trying to gain her confidence, he was doing a sketchy job.

"I didn't live in the mansion with my father. I lived on the Heartfilia grounds," he shrugged with sheepish grin.

"Ribbon never told me he had a son," she said suspiciously.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me."

"Well how else am I supposed to take this, Spade—if that's even your name? All you've been giving me has been half-answers and lies!"

He stood in front of her, the blue in his eyes piercing mercilessly into hers to a point where she couldn't look away, "my father used to visit me and tell me about the young Heartfilia princess who enjoyed reading for hours in the loveseat that was too big for her, with books to wise for her, beside a fireplace that made her brown eyes glow with wonder when they flitted across the words. She had a sour relationship with her father so he would try to pick up the slack and give her the consolation she deserved until he helped her run away when she was sixteen to escape a life that was pushed upon her from birth. He thought he would never see her again until she reappeared a year later as a young lady with a good head on her shoulders who swallowed her pride and faced her father and left through the fronts doors as a young woman with pride. She reminded him so much of Layla at that moment, he'd said. He spoke of her for many years after the Heartfilia Konzern went bankrupt and all the servants of the family had left and restarted their lives. He shed tears when the young princess had gone missing for seven years and died a happy man the day after she came back. He loved her; said her smile and laughter through the dark times at the Heartfilia Mansion made it all worthwhile. She was like the daughter he never had."

He finished, staring just as intense—maybe even more—into her tear-brimmed chocolate brown eyes.

"My father was a librarian, so he kind of had a way with words," he said regretting himself and attempting to comfort a dumbstruck Lucy.

But thoughts and guilt already had her mind tripping on itself. Ribbon had died a day after she returned from Tenrou Island? She loved him, too, but she'd been so concerned with beginning her life she hadn't considered how missed she would be. He was probably worried about her and hurt that she never even tried to contact him. She didn't really consider how risky it was to sneak her out that fateful night.

She wiped the tears that began spilling uncontrollably down her cheeks. Now he was gone. Like her father.

Like her mother.

"He probably hates me," she managed to say through a thick throat.

Spade cautiously moved his arms around her until she was leaning against his chest in a consoling embrace as she cried. She felt the weight of his chin on her head as she got herself together. Even when she stopped crying she stayed there. She hadn't been hugged like this is very long time and it felt… nice.

"Did you come all this way just to tell me this?"

She could feel every moment when he breathed in and out, "yes and no."

Lucy stepped out of his arms to look at him suspiciously again, "what do you mean 'yes and no'?"

He let his arms fall to his side as he pondered the answer, or rather, pondered giving her the answer she asked for.

"I came here to tell you about father, but to let you know who I am. His dying words were that you and I were the highlights of his life. His children he loved more than anything. I came here to make you his daughter for real."

Lucy was confused, "what are you talking about Spade?"

Spade looked at her with something that she couldn't quite place but it gave her unexplainable chills, she wasn't sure if it was good or bad.

He took her hand, "Lucy Heartfilia," he said, "I came here to win your heart."

* * *

GASPETH! WHAT SHALLLL BE DONE!?

Stay tuned for more Chappiessssss!

THANKS FOR READING EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T REVIEW.

I WILL KNOW EITHER WAY.

I'M NEW.

SO I STALK MY STATS.

I'LL BE WATCHING.

*eye twitches*

SAYOUNARA! 3


	2. Almost Is Never Enough

Herro everybody!

So surprisingly, I got reviews and followers and favorited!

UM SHO HAPPEH JOO HAV NOO IDER! :D

It's inspired me so much I finished Chapter Two as quickly as possible!

This Chapter goes into a little more explanation to Chapter 1 and what pretty much led up to it, also adding a little more story line after the events that transpired in the first chapter.

~**FLUFF~**

Yes there is some fluff in this chapter.

So soon you ask?

Just read and be delighted... sort of.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fairy Tail or any of their characters and probably never will until I make some money and buy it out and make Lucy and Natsu and Gajeel and Levy get together so fast they make babies in the span of one flippin' episode. I do, however, own Spade Ribbon.

Kay! ENJOY!

* * *

Chapter Two: Almost is Never Enough

The summer night had just set in perfectly. A light warm breeze was blowing, rustling soothingly through the trees and the street lights were dimly glowing giving Magnolia a therapeutic type of setting. The handful of civilians walked around murmuring a peaceful chord that resonated in the air. Folks walked their dogs, friends hung out, and a few couples arm-in-arm strolled around comfortably making the most of the wonderful weather.

On a bench not far from the front doors of the most renowned guild in Fiore, Fairy Tail, sat a blue-haired teenage girl all alone. From her poor posture and the constant sighs she seemed to haul from the bottom of the pit in her stomach, one would easily guess she was possibly the only person in town not enjoying the night.

Natsu had left their conversation not too long ago determined to win Lucy, she wished him good luck and he strutted off disappearing into the shadows on the street cast by the shops closed for the day.

She wondered to herself if she'd made the right decision giving him such consenting advice to try and have a one night stand with her best friend.

Levy was never one to eagerly jump into battle like many of her guild members, but she was confident in her abilities as a mage, entrusting her life to her mates and protecting her friends when need be—even though she was far from the strongest member in Fairy Tail. They had come to her countless times for favors and help with their troubles and she gladly agreed to be of service.

Sometimes, though, she questioned herself even when others believed in her. She thought she was definitely not ready enough to be chosen for the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial, but Master Makarov chose her anyway. Jet and Droy were ecstatic and weren't surprised at all; even Gajeel had faith in her. That time after Tenrou Island started to encourage her to have faith in herself like her friends seemed to in her, and she made a promise to try and do just that.

Now Natsu had trusted her enough to help him with his problems and at the moment she thought she did the best she could, considering the unexpected circumstances. But now she was beginning to deeply regret her words.

What if she tried too hard to be confident in the parts of her that were lacking?

She knew she wasn't the person to give dating advice. That was for the experienced girls, like Erza and Mirajane. But what if all she had to do was believe in herself and she could be good at it? That was how it worked, right?

Or was it just easier to meet someone else's expectations rather than your own?

She thought about everything she and Natsu talked about and registered his constantly aloof face.

Her heart plunged as she envisioned an overeager Natsu horribly rejected by an enraged Lucy. He would be crushed. And it would be her fault.

She slapped her forehead, hard.

How could she forget they were talking about _Lucy_ here! She was definitely _not_ going to be okay with Natsu asking for a _one-night-stand_! It even sounded terrible just thinking about it.

She bolted in the direction of the celestial mage's house and berated herself out loud.

"What in the world was I thinking? Why did I even think it was okay for Natsu to bring up one-night-stands at all?"

The only thing that came to her mind was an onyx hair colored mage that she would probably appreciate the same sort of attention Natsu realized he found in Lucy.

Was that it then? Was she so approving of Natsu's feelings because she was glad he knew what he wanted? Did she want Gajeel to want her like that?

It didn't take her long to decide, but before she could admit it completely to herself she caught the glimpse of pink hair just outside of Lucy's apartment and her overwhelming amount of relief that she wasn't too late highlighted only the mistakes she was now able to correct. The quick thought of Gajeel, for now, forgotten.

She waved her small hand frantically, "Natsu, wait!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Gajeel lunged forward and the clang of metal on metal rebounded off the slate-colored rocks that surrounded him and his current sparring partner-slash-full-time personal cat: Pantherlily, who was in his battle mode countering the former Phantom Lord mage's iron-pillared arm.

They slowly circled each other, both breathing hard but poised for attack as they waited for a sign; a blink, a twitch, an indrawn breath.

It was a breath from Gajeel and even though it was only milliseconds after that that their weapons connected owing to his giveaway, it gave his exceed more than enough time to block it and come back with a close call to easily slicing past the black tunic that his pierced-partner wore.

Gajeel growled at the simple mistake and made a down stroke at Pantherlily's head. Being the cat that he is, Pantherlily swiftly dropped to one knee and blocked the strike not with his sword but the cuff on his weaponless arm and swung at Gajeel's waist again with his oversized blade. Gajeel transformed his other arm and another clang in the series was heard as he prevented another narrow escape from a very bloody training session.

They danced around each other, ducking and striking, blocking and pushing and attack by attack Pantherlily countered and pretty much battered him with swordplay when usually they were on equal pars—sans Gajeel's Dragon Slayer powers.

"You're a little off tonight," Pantherlily stated cautiously as they rested on the rocks, "is there something on your mind you want to talk about?"

If it was anyone else who had the gall to ask Gajeel Redfox, Iron Dragon Slayer, son of iron dragon Metalicana and former S-Class mage of Phantom Lord Guild a pansy-ass question like that—ever—he'd pummel them into the ground with a hand made of reinforced iron that he certified himself with flying colors.

But he and Pantherlily had gotten quite close in their time together and Gajeel actually found solace in talking to the exceed about things that seemed to bother him. Seeing as the iron mage never really spoke of his feelings before to anyone, the first time he'd opened up to Pantherlily—which was pretty much the first night he ended up in Earth Land with all the other exceeds from Edolas—he sort of let everything out; how his attachment to his guilds has him doing anything for them, hence his time with Phantom Lord.

Whether the side he was on was good or evil really meant nothing to him; as long as he belonged somewhere is what mattered the most. If his guild held a grudge against another, it was only natural that it had to be annihilated, but that impulse is what landed him in Fairy Tail's hands, anyway. Since then, he's adapted to only destroying other guilds if they attempted to destroy them first. He believed Phantom Lord would've still been here if they hadn't been so arrogant.

He admitted to Lily that he missed it sometimes. It was his home since he Metalicana abandoned him and now it was gone.

Pantherlily sympathized when Gajeel told him how terrible it was to know that your home that you'd known as long as he did was gone like a breath in the air, and how alone he felt trying to make it on his own. He told him how he regretted being cruel to his former guild mates and told him he could've probably made it without Fairy Tail if he'd had friends to rely on.

He said he missed it the most because there weren't things that distracted him at Phantom Lord like they do at Fairy Tail. He was always onto the next mission and the most jewels and the strongest opponents.

Not guild brawls, inbred fighting, and the worst one of all… _emotions._

In all his life, Gajeel has never felt as in-tuned to his emotions as he did with this guild. He told himself he was going to front his apologies and remorse until they accepted him and/or until Master Makarov put him on missions that sent him away from the place, but somehow he'd managed to start actually caring about the idiots. Not that he'd ever admit that.

He supposed it started when he took that shot from Laxus to protect the shrimp.

"Gajeel?"

He suddenly became a little irritated at the thought of her, "I'm fine. Let's continue."

Gajeel raised his arm to strike down, but Pantherlily had already landed a kick to his stomach and a blade was already at the dragon slayer's neck before he even hit the ground.

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked the exceed with a worried expression. It was a pretty soft kick—for Gajeel's usual standards—and he'd fallen flat on the rocks looking like disoriented baby who just got his pacifier stolen. He glared at Pantherlily.

"I just want to remind you that training this late at night was your suggestion," Lily said sheathing his sword and returning to his chibi size.

The dragon slayer grunted, "I know that."

He crossed his arms and remained where he fell since it landed him in a sitting position resting up against a boulder anyway. Pantherlily sat across from him with folded legs, patiently waiting for an explanation to his mediocre training.

As close as they'd become, letting down his pride was always tough to do. Talking about stuff that 'bothered' him and letting his 'feelings' out was for the women at the guild who clustered around tables and got so loud and annoying that he'd rather hear a whale die with nails on a chalkboard in the background.

Gajeel had made a small hobby of finding a corner of the guild with a mug of ale and people watch, but whenever those ladies came around with their harpy-like laughs and their ear piercing shrieks at god knows what picture of some guy in Sorcerer's Magazine he could barely take a sip from his cup without breaking it in pure irritation. Those types of girls were the reason he didn't talk to any of them.

All they care about is how pretty this is or how cute that is and how they needed to find a boyfriend to buy them more things they didn't need. Sometimes he wished they were enemies of the guild that he was obligated to hit in the face with his iron rods.

Then… then there was _her._

Always silent; always chasing the words of the latest book she acquired, practically her own size most of the time, like they were the last words she'd ever read. They way she raised her eyebrows like she'd just read a shocking revelation and the way they crinkled when she concentrated, or the way she tucked a lock of her cropped blue hair whenever it got away from her drove him up the wall.

She barely said anything but it was like she was the loudest one in the guild. His own mind asking her what she was thinking about until it felt like he was saying it out loud. It drove him up the wall but not in the way he thought of the other girls of guild. It irritated him in a different way. A way he couldn't quite explain.

"It's the shrimp," he said gruffly.

Pantherlily raised an eyebrow, "Levy? What about her?"

"She's… annoying," he looked away, "...me."

Pantherlily was confused at what exactly was bothering his partner, "well," he said tapping his chin, "did she… do something to you?"

"No."

"_Said_ something to you?"

"No."

He paused in his questioning. Sometimes it was easier to sit through a cycle of thunder than get straight answers from Gajeel.

"So what exactly—"

"Gah, I don't know, okay?!

His feline companion sat quietly for a moment, thinking. He stroked his furry chin as Gajeel stole glances at his expression to get a clue if he'd found some sort of diagnosis to his emotional and possibly mental condition. It felt like forever before Lily spoke again.

"Can you try and explain when you started feeling this way?"

Half relieved at the mildness of the question but still a little disappointed at the digression, Gajeel had forgotten to be stubborn and complied, eager to reach an answer to what he felt had to be a wise analysis from Pantherlily.

If he couldn't even grasp why Lily was asking this question then it had to be a brainy reason for it way beyond his own comprehension. Gajeel frowned as he thought back, "when she was trying to undo Freed's rune thing when Laxus had gone all screwy and wanted to take over the guild. She was saying how much she believed that me and the Salamander were the only ones who could stop him."

"And you felt annoyed by this?" Pantherlily asked almost with an air of intelligence. He was secretly delighted at the little detail that they were in the perfect position of a therapy session.

"Yeah, because…," he paused as he took in a view of the stars.

"Because?"

"Because I didn't believe her," he said looking at the exceed who raised his eyebrows at his statement.

"I didn't believe she believed in me like she said she did."

"And why is that?" Lily egged on.

Gajeel snarled, "because I hurt her!"

"I beat up her entire team and chained them up for the whole guild to see. I… embarrassed her. I hurt her and I just don't believe that she'd forgive me like that. I know I wouldn't if I were her."

Lily nodded like he was surmising something, "from what I have seen, I truly believe Levy has forgiven you, though."

Gajeel snorted, "what if she's just faking it? What if she's _supposed_ to forgive me cause I'm part of the guild now? What if she is still angry with me?"

"So basically, you want to know how she really feels about you."

Gajeel nodded exasperatedly like it took forever for _Lily_ to figure it out.

To dragon slayer's curiosity, Pantherlily sat across from his dimwitted partner trying to maintain his 'therapist face' but failed due to the chuckle he was trying to hold back, "I think I may know what's really wrong with you, Mr. Gajeel Redfox."

* * *

Natsu was anxious as he made his way to Lucy's apartment. He wasn't sure why. Maybe the answer would've been easy if he usually gave himself time to think about things before he did them instead of rushing on ahead with the promise of a fight. But he just wouldn't be Natsu if he thought about things like that.

_This would be the last step to making Lucy my girlfriend, _he thought

He awarded himself a smile for being a great detective in finding out the essential information on 'getting the girl'.

It was one day at the guild when he was looking for a mission; he overheard the guys talking about a 'fun' night. Well dammit, Natsu loved having fun, too, so he was obviously curious.

He discreetly made his way over in a pretty legitimate looking mustache and his makeshift scarf hat as he sat one seat away from theirs, sipping from a mug already on the table half filled with a light gold colored beverage that tasted absolutely horrid. He forced the liquid down his throat without making a face since the guys who were talking were doing it almost professionally.

One man whooped as his buddy explained how he 'put her up against the wall' while another bragged about how they 'did it' five times in a row and then some.

Natsu scrunched up his face; _did what?_

They laughed and knocked their glasses together spilling some of the bitter-crap it was filled with all over the table. He saw Wakaba and Macao with their own mugs sit down with them and began telling a story of their own that Natsu just couldn't seem to grasp the concept of.

When was the fun part going to happen?

Natsu had continued sipping the drink absentmindedly and realized that it wasn't so bad after all. He listened in on more confusing stories in optimism that a 'fun night' will finally be explained.

It got quiet and almost didn't notice that they'd stopped talking and were now gathered around him smirking mischievously, including Wakaba and Macao. They tore of his mustache and hat and chuckled.

"Looks like Natsu has a story he'd like to share with us men."

One of them pointed to his mug and laughed, "_and _he drinks like one, too! Get this man another, will ya?" He shouted to Kinana, she looked confused but complied.

Natsu wasn't sure what was going on or what they were talking about, but he suddenly felt included. And they called him a _man_. He grinned stupidly as he finished the last gulp of the weird stuff that was making him feel all woozy and slammed it down on the table.

The men cheered as they passed him another one.

"So who was your first, Natsu?"

They grinned at him in anticipation and he grinned back, answering in an offbeat sort of manner, "my first what?"

It was like trumpets died into a fart.

"Your _first_. You know," said another man who made a gesture with his index finger and an 'o' shape he made with his other hand, "was it Lisanna? I knew you had a thing for her."

Natsu was still grinning, probably due to the wonderful feeling in contents of the mug that made him want to float, "what thing?"

Macao dragged a palm down his face, "alright guys, he doesn't know what we're talking about. Let's go—"

"Well he has to learn someday," Wakaba said hitting Macao in the chest with the back of his hand, "right kid?"

Natsu hiccupped then nodded vigorously.

"Alright," he took a seat next to the teenager, "when you have sex with someone—"

"Have sex?" he said inattentively into his cup as he downed the gold liquid.

"Yeah, it's when you—"

"What is going on here?" Asked a seriously toned man who pried the mug from Natsu and death glared the men around him.

Natsu hiccupped again as stumbled up on to the top of the table and pointed a severe finger at the man in the cloak, "Gildarts! Good, you're..._hup... _here. Let's fight!"

In the next moment as the tipsy fire dragon slayer prepared a Roar of the Fire Dragon that would definitely bring down the whole guild, Gildarts slammed a fist into his stomach and Natsu collapsed back into the chair.

"Ow," he said as he sobered up.

"Now, like I asked, what's going on here," asked Gildarts. The men trembled where the stood except for Wakaba who stepped forward.

"We thought Natsu was old enough to know what being with a girl is, so we were doing the honors of explaining it to him. No harm done."

The men nodded in agreement to Wakaba's statement.

Gildarts pondered on this then stood up. "I will explain it to him, then."

Natsu and Gildarts sat on the white stretch of bridge where they used to fish in the river beneath them.

"I couldn't get what they were talking about, Gildarts," said Natsu after a moment of silence, sensing some tension, "is something wrong?"

The orange-haired man sighed, mumbling something to the effect of, "what have I gotten myself into."

He looked at the pink-haired boy and began.

"Natsu, when you like a girl…" Gildarts chose his words carefully to make sure Natsu understood, "there are things that you feel that make you want to be with them in a special way."

Natsu was not following. Was Gildarts answering his question? Because it didn't seem like the guys in the guild were talking about anything remotely close to what he was saying. Natsu let him continue uninterrupted anyway. He was still recovering from that slug to his stomach and he did _not_ want another one.

"When you… _act… _on those feelings, you start to share a special bond with them, especially if you've decided that you really care about her. Sometimes, you decide you want to spend all of your time with her. But sharing that bond… is just one way of showing her that you want her."

Gildarts watched as the gears began to turn inside Natsu's dense head.

"So having sex—"

"—is just a cruder way of putting this special bond."

Natsu went quiet again, sloppily piecing the puzzle together attempting to make sense of the whole thing. Gildarts laughed and roughly patted Natsu's back, "you're still young though, it's not going to be a while until you're ready for that," he said as he stood up.

"How will I know what to do?"

Gildarts grinned. "You'll know, believe me."

"What if she doesn't know what to do?"

"That's the tricky part. Women are unexplainable creatures. If you manage to find the right one and have her want to share that special bond with you… you'll be the luckiest guy on Earth Land."

Natsu looked at the water thoughtfully, "and you think I'm not ready yet?"

Gildarts tilted his head in consideration, "I mean I was only a little older than you were when I shared a special bond with someone. Maybe you're ready, maybe you're not. It's really up to you."

After that, an ambitious Natsu made a bet to Gildarts that he was going to find a girl that wants to share this mysterious special bond called, having sex, with, and that he won't stop until he does. Gildarts shook his head trying to explain to him that it didn't really work that way, but Natsu was already off to tell Lucy about his brand-spanking new mission.

It wasn't until he found her walking on the ledge outside of her apartment when he decided that she was the one. He wasn't sure why he chose her. But it just felt right.

He also wasn't sure why he made up that lame excuse that he was hungry and wanted to know if she had food, but something told him that coming out and saying you want to have sex with someone won't go as well as planned.

And when she touched him he felt tingly and warm, and weird in certain southward places.

He was so caught off guard that he bolted, not sure of the new sensations he'd experienced.

Luckily he found Levy and she made him understand that Lucy was now his girlfriend and that this special bond was just a step to ensuring that.

He was just about to climb up to blonde's window when he heard Levy's voice.

"Natsu, wait!"

He turned around at the sound of her even though she was quite a distance away. Any normal person wouldn't have a heard a bomb drop from the lengths between them, but keen hearing was one of the many gifts of being a dragon slayer.

He waved back confused as to why she was here and why she stopped his quest. He jogged to her meeting her halfway.

"What's wrong Levy?"

She lifted an index finger as she rested on her knees, panting.

"You can't see Lucy yet," she said as she gasped for air.

Natsu was disgruntled, "why not?" He asked looking up at her window then back to the bluenette.

He was sure Levy heard him but her eyes flitted around desperately for something until she pointed to the ledge of the canal, "can we sit down?"

They sat down and Natsu waited impatiently until she contained herself, "why can't I see Lucy, Levy?"

"Because," she said twisting her lips trying to say the next words right, "you're doing it for the wrong reasons. As Lucy's best friend I just can't allow you to just have her for one night and be done with her. She's special and nice and she really cares about you, and I think that you'll really hurt her if you do this to her. And if you hurt her, I won't forgive you."

"So you don't think I should share a special bond with her?" Natsu asked, discouraged. He was sure Lucy was the one he wanted to spend all his time with, like Gildarts explained, but Levy seemed pretty serious that this bond might harm Lucy… and that was the last thing he wanted.

Levy's eyebrows knitted together in puzzlement, "special bond? What are you talking about?"

Natsu began to explain everything from when he walked in to the guild that day. The mustache. The weird tasting juice. What the men were talking about in painstaking detail that made Levy blush like someone had slapped her cheeks into next year. She waved her hands wildly around herself and her ears pleading for him to skip to the next part. He then told her about the conversation with Gildarts and his declaration. And he told her about his feelings when he saw Lucy.

Levy sat there for a moment, taking it all in.

Then she laughed.

"Natsu! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Wait, what'd I do," he whined. Why does he constantly feel like he never gets the joke?!

"Everything makes sense now!"

"Levy. _**What makes sense?**_"

"You never intended to have a one-night-stand with Lucy at all, you idiot!"

"What's a one-night-stand—Levy can you tell me what you're talking about?"

"Natsu. It's simple, really."

"It is?"

She nodded excitedly before she said it:

"You're in love with Lucy!"

He blinked at her.

"I'm… in love with lucy?"

"Yes! Well basically."

She gasped and startled him out of his thoughts, "OHMAIGOSH YOU HAVE TO TELL HER!"

"That I'm in love her?"

Levy squealed, "yes! Tell her exactly that! Say, 'Lucy. I love you.'"

"Just like that?"

He wasn't so sure the special bond worked like that, but this was new. He loved Lucy? Was that what those feelings were? Wanting to protect her? Wanting to feel her hand touch his face again? Wanting to hold her? It was all… love. Huh.

"Natsu, don't be a scaredy cat now! Come on I'll go with you," she exclaimed jumping to her feet and heading for the door.

"Uh. I usually go through the window."

Her eyes lit up, "that's even better! It ups the romance to a whole new level if you burst through the window!"

Natsu was a little confused, but he was used to it. With a little help hoisting the petite girl onto the balcony, they were both standing before a measly glass panel: the only hurdle between Natsu's confession of love for the celestial mage.

At least the window was the only hurdle until they looked inside.

"Who is that?" Natsu asked feeling his stomach drop.

Levy peeked inside and sucked in a breath as they watched Lucy being cradled in the arms of a mysterious blue-haired man as he rested his chin on her head. His arms hung low on her waist and her blonde head was tucked in the crook of his neck while they stood there, embracing.

Natsu quickly reached for the latch when Levy stopped him.

"Natsu… I don't—"

"I have to tell her I love her," he said savagely. He got the overwhelming urge to blast this guy away into the wind. And why the hell was he holding Lucy like that? His temper began rising.

"Natsu, I don't think this is the right time," she said as she watched the two of them exchange words and the strange man entwine his hand with hers.

Natsu growled as he watched the same infuriating scene, "what the hell is he doing."

The dragon slayer didn't know where this animosity was coming from but it was taking over like wildfire. All he wanted to do was pry his hands off of her and let loose a few Fire Dragon's Roars on him.

"Let's get out of here," Levy said to him sensing the rising malice in just the glare that Natsu gave through the glass window.

She started to leave but saw Natsu reaching for the latch again when she grabbed his hand and forced him to look at her. His face was so hostile and his jaw clenched and unclenched in pure tangible vehemence.

"Natsu, I know you're upset, but you're going to make it worse if you go in there now. You won't be able to properly tell Lucy how you feel and your only chance will be ruined. Let's go and I'll talk to her about this."

He looked as if he didn't hear a word she said and was just envisioning ways of making the blue-haired man suffer unapologetically. Levy only prayed for his sanity.

"Please Natsu. Let's go."

There was still not much response, but he reluctantly let Levy pull him away from the window and then the apartment and past the guild to a large building made of bricks that Natsu half registered as Fairy Hills. Levy was whispering to him about how he can stay the night with her for now and that she was worried about him. He heard her mention that he'll have to climb through the window to get in since guys weren't allowed in there… which refreshed a certain memory that made him want to break every goddamn window he'll ever encounter. Levy made a bed for him on the floor and barely even noticed her slip past the front door. He lay awake for hours cursing and swearing and vowing that Lucy Heartfilia will know about his love and then she will be his.

_Only_. His.

* * *

Levy was dumbfounded as she hurried her way through the crowds in search of the one person she needed to see. It would take some effort to talk it through to him, but she could only try to have him hear her out and hopefully _help_ her out with this situation. She felt as if her mind was going a mile a minute.

She was extremely concerned for Natsu's well being for starters.

If Lucy had another prospect—which hurt Levy deeply that Lucy never told her about him—and Natsu ended up killing the guy out of volatile jealousy it will conclude in a catastrophic ending to a friendship that no one would have expected to go down.

Lucy would never look at Natsu the same again and they'll both crash and burn. They needed each other to survive now.

They were made for each other.

Levy ran to the front doors of the guild and pulled.

Locked.

Crap, everyone must've gone home.

_So he's not in there, _she determined.

She searched up and down the streets of Magnolia—even his special training spots that she knew about. But he was nowhere to be found.

She couldn't handle this alone. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to stop Natsu from running back to Lucy before they cleared this whole thing up. And only Gajeel would be the only one to hold him back if he tried. She headed into the middle of town to see if she'd have any luck.

It was about half an hour later and Levy had practically run herself dry. She sat down at a cement bench somewhere in the center of a courtyard garden—not near the guild and not near Fairy Hills.

She was too tired at the moment to move as she panted and held the stitch in her stomach. She felt like she ran a hundred marathons today and she _hated_ running. She despised feeling like lungs were going to explode and that uncomfortable pain in her chest that made her want to cough. In fact, she hated pretty anything that had to with cardio-vascular stress.

"Levy?"

She jolted upright as her mind registered the voice and face that appeared before her.

"Gajeel! Thank goodness," she said relieved, "I've been looking for you everywhere."

Gajeel cleared his throat and shifted his eyes around the area suspiciously.

"You're alone…," he stated randomly.

"Uh, yeah… I was all over town trying to find you," she said studying the dragon slayer quizzically.

"Were you now…" he said in an admiring sort of trance. He caught her worried eye and stammered back to the topic, "why were you looking for me?"

"Oh my goodness, yes. Something serious has happened with Natsu," she fretted as he took a seat beside her on the bench.

"Remember when you brought him outside for me when the brawl was going on and I wanted to talk" her words caught in her throat for moment when Gajeel had inched himself from where he was to sit down only a finger from where she sat. She tried to act cool, "I, uh, I wanted to talk to him and he started to tell me that," she jumped when he placed his hand on her thigh just above her knee.

"Gajeel, what are—?"

"Go on," he whispered gruffly.

She nodded as she felt a heat creep up her back, "he tried to tell me that he," she held back a gasp as his cool fingertips on her bare thigh began creeping up, "…that he was..."

She couldn't get her words out anymore. She couldn't even think.

"That he was?" He teased using his other hand to tilt her chin up to his face.

"Gajeel, it's really important…"

Well it was supposed to be, but now all she could feel was the pounding of her heart and quickness in her breath when he looked at her like he did through heavy-lidded eyes. She knew he was going too fast but she couldn't control herself enough to tell him to stop, especially when his hand kept moving.

"I'm sure it's important, but I don't care about that right now," he smirked devilishly as he captured her lips in a kiss.

Her heart and stomach probably switched places at that moment. She felt something strange come over her, like a heavy blanket of some sort covering her body—and it felt so good.

He kissed her gently at first but something told her the mood would change directions any second into a deeper sensation. Completely occupied in anticipating that moment, Levy closed her eyes and gave herself away to his lips.

She reached up to pull his face closer to hers by his hair as they began parting their mouths and inviting their tongues to play. He traced her bottom lip with his as she pressed into his mouth enveloping it with hers. They darted in and out, teasing and nipping and sucking and soothing it all over with warmth of their tongues.

Levy was completely out of her mind. Nothing had felt so… exquisite… in her life. Though she'd never been kissed before, this had to be the best one she'd ever have.

Gajeel reached down and squeezed her hip. She moaned into his mouth arching into him and pulling him closer daring any space to come between them.

She was now kneeling on the bench at a point where she was slightly higher than him, tilting his head back and exploring every inch of him with her sense of taste and her smell when she inhaled his breath. His hands continued their path up and down her torso and occasionally on the side of her breasts making her knees almost buckle, but his grip was firm as he held her up, pinning her body to his strong chest.

She begged for it to last longer, but the obligation to breathe was too strong.

Her eyes were still closed as she pulled apart breathing hard, "Gajeel," she panted.

The voice she heard respond was unfamiliar, it chuckled flippantly, "not quite, love."

She opened her eyes fully to find not ruby eyes that she'd come to know, but to a navy color that looked only slightly recognizable until she saw the electric blue of his hair all around her periphery.

It was the same man that was with Lucy earlier today!

She gasped and felt the impression that she shoved him away, but her body stayed absolutely still, like a statue, pressed up against this man who wasn't an iron dragon slayer. A thick roll of fear rose in her throat.

"What did you do to me?" She demanded struggling to move and break free. Her mind hadn't reeled from the kiss yet, but slowly the promise of panic and internal chaos was gradually building inside of her.

"You mean what _you_ did to _yourself_. Shameful how you can't recognize your true love from a disguise," he chided with a smirk.

Levy was now hysterically throwing herself every which way possible trying to get away, sensing an evil intention so strong and pure coming from the man who'd held her best friend in his arms not a few hours ago and who was now holding her in the most repulsive way. But it was like she was willingly sitting there in his arms, not even attempting to move.

"Solid Script: Fire!" She called out.

Nothing.

Dammit, she couldn't use magic, either. Levy began to feel the panic rising to new levels as she feared for her life.

He raised his eyebrows with mirth, "that was adorable. Are you done now?"

She continued to struggle but to no avail. She was frozen.

"What do you want from me?" She snapped at him venomously, using her words as a last resort.

He grinned much to her infuriation, "don't worry sweetheart, you'll find out—not that you'll be able to do anything about it."

Before she could demand why in futile effort, he conjured his magic spell, "King of Hearts: Takeover."

That blanket that Levy had felt when he first made his move began to layer over her consciousness as she made every effort to break through the suffocating darkness that swallowed her. She screamed until she could only _hear_ herself scream inside of a dark pit that sucked her up into another dimension.

Her voice died in her throat and her hazel eyes stared off into space vacantly and she went limp like rag-doll for a split second before she straightened herself up like a remote controlled robot.

Spade grabbed Levy's chin roughly and jerked her face towards his.

She didn't struggle. She didn't react. She was as lifeless and comatose as dead body.

"Now that you've finally shut up, I have a little favor to ask you Levy McGarden."

* * *

DAMMIT SPADE I KNEW YOU WERE NO GOOD.

Nyaaa! Stay tuned for **CHAPTER THREE** to see what's in store to this new plot twist!

Also I'd like to give a few thanks to my very first reviewers!

**~miss colorful words**

**~skelekc**

**~Omili**

**~7RandomGal7**

~**shortypink**

**~FireLily0213**

You all along with my favoriters and followers were my motivation to write and not die in a corner from the lack of response.

** THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

**P.S.:**If you guys haven't noticed by now, the titles to the chapters and even the story in general are actually song titles in my playlist! The lyrics don't really have anything to do with the stories they're attached to, but I figured it'd be a neat little way to categorize things! Go look them up if you want!

Main Title: Best Friend by RaVaughn

Chapter 1: How To Touch A Girl by JoJo

Chapter 2: Almost Is Never Enough by Ariana Grande

Again, thanks for reading and REVIEW, FAVORITE AND/OR FOLLOW!

Ja!


	3. I Won't Say I'm In Love

Okay... sooooo

This chapter is significantly shorter than my last two only because I felt like I was giving away a lot of stuff. So instead of having more than one point of view in a chapter, I'm breaking them up into complete chapters of their own to maintain longevity cause I don't want the story to end too soon

THIS POINT OF VIEW IS IN LUCY'S! And I must say I rather enjoy writing her. If there was an anime character than reminded me of myself it would be her!

Hope you guys enjoy and I might be a little late with the other chapters since you know, it's Christmas Break and all. BUT I WILL NOT STOP WRITING! I PROMISE!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters: *insert reason why life would be fucking awesome if I did* I own Spade though!... but we all hate him...

* * *

Chapter 3: I Won't Say I'm In Love…

Being in the middle of summer, Fairy Tail was busy with bustling mages zooming in and out with request sheets in the grasps of their hands. There was a moderate crowd gathered around the request board as a few contemplated their next mission and others argued over one. Some sighed over the jewels they could've been rewarded with if they were more skilled while others held their breath and took the plunge into the challenge.

Lucy stood, dispirited, before the entrance to the guild. Her bangs shaded her downcast eyes and her fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly as she recalled the words of apparently her belated friend's son who decided to randomly seek her out and inform her of his father's passing—and then proceed to confess his promise to win her heart.

Normally, she would have freaked out and quickly nullify any lewd attempts with blatant words of rejection. Namely, her celestial zodiac spirit, Taurus, and that knight from the Legion Corps, Dan Straight, who'd confessed to her in a more dramatic imposing way that made it too easy for her to say 'no' to and bat them away like a fly and a swatter.

But Spade's confession…

His was different.

He didn't mock her in a hyperactive attempt to win her. Instead, he took her by surprise and was serious about his feelings. And for the first time, Lucy couldn't bring herself to reject that kind of maturity. It was new to her, and it confused her.

Woven into his words was the iron-will to fulfill a promise to his late father and Lucy's late friend. He gave her the overwhelming power to crush or achieve the oath that he made on the back of his father's last words. It made his declaration that much harder to deny. How could she not give him a chance to prove himself to her? It would be selfish not to.

She'd told him that she would think about his offer and give him an answer when she figured out her feelings.

And he'd said he'd wait for her no matter how long it took.

Again, his character had weighed itself on her chest as she slept that night and she began convincing herself to defer to his emotions.

She thought about his personality and easily envisioned him as the hero of her novels that saved the day and got the girl.

He was handsome enough.

He was sophisticated enough.

He said all the right things.

And the way he looked at her made her heart involuntarily skip a beat. It was so intense that she felt she had no choice but to believe him.

So what was the problem? Why the reservation?

Lucy sighed.

Stressing about this was giving her a headache. Hopefully Natsu found a job for them to distract her. And who knows, maybe when she came back to it, it will all be clear.

That reminded her; Natsu never came back last night. She actually wouldn't have minded him lending his ear to her dilemmas of the heart. She never knew him to be the one who was swayed by stuff like that so maybe he'd have a better understanding of what she could do in this type of situation and what the hell was she thinking… this was Natsu she was talking about… she highly doubted he would even begin to know what advice to give…

…buuuut Levy would!

Oh my god. Yes. Tonight is definitely going to be a mandatory girls' night where she will lay all of her problems that she and Levy will take a surgical knife to! Her mood lightened as the predicaments she was faced with now turned itself into deep and over-analytical conversations on the networks of confessionals. Those topics always delighted her and her petite best friend.

With a lighter weight on her shoulder and an optimistic smile, Lucy walked through the doors ready to meet her next mission head on.

Inside, the guild was in its usual swing of things since the summer began. Mirajane was behind the bar cleaning off a seemingly endless supply of water-spotted glasses. Lisanna sat behind it giggling at a starry-eyed Juvia who had her cheek resting against her clasped hands staring in the direction of a cool and laid-back ice-make magician who was very much aloof to the constant stream of metaphoric heart-shaped bubbles that popped against his spiky navy blue hair.

Cana was passed out with her legs wrapped around a most-likely-empty keg of ale, resting her forehead on the rim of it and complaining about how much she needed a boyfriend while Wakaba Macao and few other guys were trying to figure out a way to play poker with her tarot cards.

Lucy walked up to Jet and Droy who were giving Nav a hard-time as he stood pondering over mission that he would inevitably never pick.

"Hey guys!" Lucy chirped.

They turned and acknowledged her, "hey Lucy, what's got you all perky?" Droy asked.

She gave them a light-hearted scowl, "perky? I'm actually not really… meh. Never mind. Have you seen Levy around?"

They shook their heads and their faces began to express wonder as to where their beloved team captain was as well, "we actually haven't seen her since she left during the brawl last night," said Jet.

"You guys had a brawl last night?"

It was a rhetorical question that was actually stated in the manner of asking something to the effect of, 'it was raining outside?'

When you're at Fairy Tail for this long, things like brawls and friendly rivalries were considered abnormal if they weren't present.

Nav snorted, "what else do you expect when Natsu walks in?"

Lucy scrunched her eyebrows, "Natsu was here?"

_So he went back to the guild after he left? Weird._

"NAV WHY ARE YOU TALKING WE'RE WAITING ON YOU TO PICK A GODDAMN JOB ALREADY," they yelled.

"Guys—" Lucy tried to intervene over their voices, "can you just tell me—" but she was failing. "I just need to know where I can—"

It was too late though. They'd already begun an impenetrable bickering match. Lucy sighed and slumped down next Gray. She thought she felt a pressure on her back like someone was watching her, but she must have been imagining it.

Meanwhile, Juvia hid behind a pillar and cursed Lucy for her sinful attempts on her Gray.

"I saw Gajeel drag Natsu out of the guild like a sack of potatoes last night. Levy had left seconds before that," Gray said calmly then chomped on a leg of lamb.

"Eh? They all left together?" Lucy asked wondering what Levy, Natsu, _and_ Gajeel of all people could have been doing.

"No, Gajeel came back moments later."

"Not Levy and Natsu?"

Gray shook his head, "I haven't seen flame-brain or Levy since."

Lucy was oddly ticked off at this piece of information. She'd slaved in the kitchen to cook him a thank you meal and he ditches to start a brawl at the guild and have extracurricular excursions with her best friend. What an ungrateful idiot!

She was subconsciously adding the blame of her inner turmoil caused by Spade on Natsu as well. She figured if he were there, she wouldn't have been as caught up with it as she is now. He would've probably made some scene with this obnoxious ways that would redirect some of the tension.

Lucy would have giggled out loud at the wildness of her imagination as she envisioned Natsu giving Spade some sort of idiotic nickname before he indirectly insulted him by asking him some stupid question that had an obvious answer.

Yeah, she would have giggled if she didn't feel like pouring a heaping pot of leftover salmon soup on the roseate's hollow head.

"I wonder if that's what he had to 'take care of'," she said to herself.

"Huh?" Gray asked.

"Don't mind me, I'm just…," she sighed, "…talking to myself…"

Gray watched her concernedly, "are you okay, Luce?"

His worried question snapped her out of her moment of self-pity and she waved her hands around rapidly shaking her head, "oh yeah! I'm fine," she lied, "I'm just, you know, trying to find Natsu so we can go on a mission! I need money for rent next month, for sure, so if I can get it now and save it, I won't have to worry! You see it's all about how you plan your time and money wisely so you don't have to freak out when your rent is due! Ahahaha! Just trying to think ahead!" She rambled.

She grinned showing how okay she was, sounding unconvincing to even _herself, _but Gray just raised an eyebrow and ripped another chunk of flesh of lamb off the bone, placidly buying the exaggerated excuse. Lucy sighed again.

In all honesty, Lucy was actually really upset that Natsu had ditched her. She would have understood if he had just told her. It's not like she was the jealous type or anything.

So why was she so upset over this?

_Probably because last night I might have needed them both to be there with me. _

She mentally slapped herself. _Get a grip Lucy. You can handle __**one**__ confession of true love without running to your friends, can't you? You're a big girl. Handle yourself dammit. _

But who else was she supposed to go to, if not her friends?

_Exactly. They'll turn up sooner or later and they'll help me out like they always do!_

But what did she need them to help her figure out anyway?

_Whether or not I should, you know, give Spade a chance._

It's simple question. Yes or no?

Wait.

…is… is she arguing with herself?...

She let her head drop with a thud on the wood table earning a few looks from the members.

_GAH! THIS IS ALL SPADE'S FAULT. DAMN HIM MAKING ME QUESTION EVERY LITTLE THING. _

"I don't even know what I want anymore!" She groaned out loud feeling that headache coming back with a vengeance.

"What's with Lucy?" She heard Erza ask Gray.

Gray made a face and lifted his shoulders, "dunno, she's been acting weird since she got here."

Erza lifted Lucy by the scruff and the blonde let a yelp slip out as she registered her feet lifting off the ground.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing Erza! It's just stuff! Put me down! Please!"

The crimson-haired mage released her grip and let Lucy plop back down in her seat with a jerk, "stuff? Like… boy stuff?"

Lucy nodded and rubbed her neck.

Erza lips widened mischievously.

"Ehhmm, why are you looking at me like that?"

Without an answer, Lucy found herself in Erza's vice-like grip once again being dragged across the floor through a door behind the bar as the Requip mage hollered almost maniacally, "emergency meeting!"

Lucy squeaked, "emergency what? Where are you taking me?! Someone help!"

But everyone pretty much looked like this type of thing happened all the time and Lucy wasn't just about to be kidnapped by the scariest woman in Fairy Tail.

_Dammit, that's right! Who would want to cross Erza! I'M DOOMED. _

The proclaimed Titania threw the appalled blonde into a chair and she felt the setting of the room turn into some kind of eerie feeling like she was about to be interrogated.

A spotlight flipped on focusing on the startled teen as her eyes adjusted out of the stun and saw the silhouettes of people around her.

They stepped forward and revealed themselves and Lucy gasped.

Practically all the women of Fairy Tail had gathered; Cana, Lisanna, Juvia, Evergreen, Bisca, Laki, Kinana and even Wendy and Carla—though they looked quite unsure of what was going on themselves—were all standing before her forming a half circle. In lead were Erza and Mirajane of course.

Lucy gulped.

"Uh… what's going on?"

"Today, Lucy Heartfilia is the day where you shall undergo initiation and intervention to the Emergency Meetings that have been held by the women of Fairy Tail since the first generation," informed Erza with her arms crossed over her breast plate.

"The first generation? That long ago?"

"I thought Levy was going to end up in here before you. I'm actually surprised," said Bisca.

"Huh?" The celestial mage said brilliantly.

At that moment Lucy could've probably understood Plue's timid language than a word that had been uttered to her since she'd been abducted.

"One by one, every girl in this room—except for you and Levy—have gone through the initiation and intervention process of the Women of Fairy Tail Emergency Meetings," Erza interjected, "It's a highly integrated program of extracting sensitive information about possible future male prospects. We study and strategize countermeasures to either accept their treaty of love or submit them to ours."

Lucy eyes scanned across the room, "Wait, _everyone_ has been through this?"

They all nodded.

"Wendy and Carla, too?!"

The young dragon slayer and exceed flushed, but nodded, confirming her disbeliefs.

"Who could they have possibly—?"

"—Romeo… duh," Evergreen rolled her eyes.

Wendy flushed even more at the nonchalant tone of her deep dark secret being flung out carelessly into the air, "and Carla can't choose between Happy and Lily."

"EVERGREEN!" Carla and Wendy squealed.

"What? It's true."

Lucy shook her head, "why haven't Levy and I been told about this secret society before?!"

Mirajane chuckled sweetly, "because you both never really had anyone that you were interested in—until now."

"And only those who've had an intervention can join the interveners group," finished Lisanna.

Lucy didn't know what to say. She thought there was finally nothing about Fairy Tail that could possibly surprise her but she was obviously sorely mistaken.

"So," Cana smirked devilishly, "now for the fun part."

_Fun part? Why do I dread the sound of that…_

"Who's the lucky guy?" Cooed Laki.

"… say Gray and Juvia will drown you in your sleep…"

They all stared at the slightly psychopathic water-mage for a moment then back to the blonde who visibly gulped.

"Lucky guy?"

"Yes, we already know who it is but we just want to hear you say it," Cana said.

Lucy widened her eyes, "you do?"

"Lucy. Come on. It's so obvious," Lisanna giggled.

"I-It is?"

"Yeah, as obvious as Cana and Max are," Laki smiled.

Lucy stared at the lavender head.

"… I didn't even know Cana and Max were together…"

"They're not," she said, "but they will be!"

A drunk Cana began hollering obnoxiously, "who the hell said you can air my laundry to the world you sadistic grave robber!"

"Well everyone was going to know anyway!" Argued Laki, "and I'm _not _a grave robber."

"YOU LIKE MY _**DAD**_**. **YOU'RE A GRAVE ROBBER."

"Girls-girls-girls, there's no need to get in a spout over this, we all must accept who our hearts are attracted to," said Erza maternally.

"Yeah, even if you're in love with an international criminal who tried to _kill you_," sneered Evergreen patting Erza whose face was as red as her hair.

Erza's eyebrow twitched warningly, "from what I recall Evergreen," she chose that moment to snatch the self-proclaimed fairy by the collar of scraps she called clothes, "you and Elfman seemed pretty cozy at Ryuuzetsu Land during the Grand Magic Games."

Evergreen sputtered, "I already told you it wasn't like that! I needed some fresh air and we just _happened _to end up at that water park!"

Erza rolled her eyes, "yeah, sure."

"Are you calling me a liar?!"

They snarled at each other ready to start firing at one another until Kinana spoke up.

"I agree with Erza-san," she said timidly, "just because they're criminals doesn't mean they can't change. Evergreen, you were once against Fairy Tail, weren't you?"

That shut the light-brown haired woman up and Erza proceeded to release her making her stumble back a few steps. It was true, the fact that both Erza and Kinana had fallen in love with mage's once enemies of Fairy Tail and even Earthland in general had meant a quickly resolved truce between the women and brought them back to the reason they'd all gathered in the first place.

Mirajane sighed blissfully, "so Lucy, how did Natsu exactly tell you that he—huh? Where'd she go?"

Lucy managed to escape the guild with a request sheet she ripped randomly off the board. She was halfway to Fairy Hills before she stopped running to rest against a tree along the pathway.

They were crazy! All crazy! No way telling them about Spade will help her figure anything out.

_But they said they knew about him… maybe they were bluffing._

She huffed as she read the summary of the mission.

It was a wealthy family who were in the process of moving to another mansion. There weren't enough carts in town to get all of their belongings into the other house before the original was intended to be demolished so they were looking for clever mages to move all of their stuff quickly and efficiently. Jewels could be negotiating to a higher price depending on how swift they were. The approximation of completion was two days, maximum.

Seemed simple enough.

Now to look for her dense-headed partner and get a move on.

She took a step forward looking back to make sure she hadn't been followed and ran smack into a wall that definitely wasn't there before.

"Ow," she groaned rubbing her nose. She looked up and saw red eyes looking down upon her, "Gajeel! I didn't see you there!"

She was actually quite startled to see Gajeel so close to Fairy Hills. In truth, finding Natsu wasn't the only reason she wanted to seek out her blue-haired bff. While Erza was in the middle of her bickering match with Evergreen, Lisanna was explaining to her the reason why Bisca believed that Levy would be in the hot seat before herself and about all the little things they'd observed over the years since Gajeel joined. Her own blonde-headed mind begun wrapping around the conclusion they had come to and her own recollection of her best friends' actions around the iron dragon slayer especially only seemed to strengthen the assumption she was influenced to make by the crazy women of her guild.

As Levy's best friend, Lucy knew what she had to do.

Lucy had to find out if Levy's feelings were reciprocated.

"Oi, Bunny Girl," he said just before she said something, "you seen the book-worm around anywhere?"

Lucy gasped internally. Was this divine destiny that Gajeel was looking for Levy! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!

"I'm actually heading to Fairy Hills now to look for her! Do you want to come!?" She said way too excitedly.  
"I just came from there and she wasn't home," he said looking awfully disappointed at that fact.

She was squealing internally now but on the outside she frowned, "well at least that saves me the trip. I'm actually looking for Natsu. You wouldn't happen to know where he might be, would you?"

Gajeel was eerily quiet as he stared at the girl making her feel a little uncomfortable, "you and the shrimp are close, right?"

It was off topic, but she answered, "uh… yeah, I guess so."

"And how do you feel about Salamander," he said through gritted teeth. Lucy could tell Gajeel was agitated about something and he was trying to keep his cool, but that unusual breathlessness she got when Spade claimed that Natsu was her boyfriend was back at the tone of his question.

"What do you mean?"

He growled, "I mean do you want to get with him?!"

She was absolutely stumped at his forwardness that she could actually feel the painstaking creep of the heat rising to her face, "Wah?! Natsu and I are just… we're just really good friends! Why are you asking me this?"

"That doesn't matter now because I'm confused as hell," he said low and feral.

Lucy could only listen to his rants completely tangled in her mind trying to decipher another meaning to the words the dragon slayer had so recently spoken.

"I followed Natsu's scent straight to Levy's room last night."

Now _that_ snapped her out of it.

"You did what?!"

"I sat there for an hour and the bastard never came back out," he said looking about ready to pound the tree Lucy was just resting on to smithereens.

"Wait… are you saying that Natsu… and Levy… were in the same room… together… all night…"

This… this didn't make any sense. Was he getting at what she thinks he's getting at?

"What the fuck else am I saying? All this time I thought the idiot was into _you!"_

"Into _me?!" _

This was preposterous. Completely crazy. There's no possible way either statements Gajeel made were even remotely true.

"What were you doing at Levy's place last night anyway?"

He stared off into the fields his eyes still seething.

_He had feelings for her after all._

"I got a bad feeling about the shrimp so I went to check on her."

"A bad feeling?"

"Yeah, well it turns out… shit, it doesn't even matter now," he said pushing past Lucy and storming off."

"Wait! Gajeel!"

He could hear her but he ignored her.

And just like that, with her heart beating at the most irregular pace, Lucy was left with even more confusing questions to answer…

* * *

Hope you guys liked it!

I'm really going into the storyline as the fanfiction progresses, I know this wasn't much to go on, but it delved into Lucy's thoughts on Spade's proposal.

**THANK YOU AGAIN TO ALL MY REVIEWERS AND FAVORITERS AND FOLLOWERS. I LOVE YOU ALL. SO MUCH. **

Ahaha! STAY TUNED FOR CHAPPIE 4! **ISH STARTS GETTING REAL.**

**-Sidenote-**

This chapter's title song is: I Won't Say I'm In Love by the Hercules soundtrack!

Ja!


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